In many systems it may be necessary to couple one printed circuit board (PCB) to another in order for components on each PCB to communicate with one another. Often, one PCB is stacked upon the other with a plurality of compliant pins extending from the lower board into the upper board to facilitate the electrical connection. A stiff or sturdy pin is generally not used because of the effects of any mismatch between the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of one PCB with respect to the other PCB.
During assembly, however, it is known that it is possible that the pins could be damaged if excessive force is used when seating the upper PCB. To prevent damage to the pins during assembly, some propose to build a stop directly into the design of the pin. The stop within the pin, however, can still translate damaging force directly to the lower PCB. This is especially problematic when the lower PCB is a ceramic direct bonded copper (DBC) style board.
A mechanism for preventing damage to the pins is needed.